DX11, SLI, and YOU

2

Comments

  • OscarTheCouchOscarTheCouch Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34647Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    whats the driver number?
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2013
    OK everyone, need one last community help on this.

    I need to have people test out the new driver with different rig configurations. Like 500, 600 series SLI.

    On my system, I still get graphical corruption in DX11... but the Nvidia guys cannot reproduce it on their machines.

    Therefore! We need a larger sample size than just myself. Could I please get some volöunteers?
    whats the driver number?

    The newest driver they just released is 331.82 WHQL.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    Did it get better? I was wondering when I saw that you have a GTX 570, and that got me somewhat nostalgic. Tinkering with Fermi's joke of a framebuffer and related stutter and corruption issues arising from the lack of video memory is definitely something I do not miss from my old setup with 3-way SLI GTX 480.

    You see, that's a mighty decent graphics card even today, but I cannot stress enough how much it's starved of video memory. This is from personal experience, and the inherent cause of my incessant issues with stuttering and at times, graphical corruption in many titles, that led me to just say damn it all and go all out with the Titan, that efficiently and swiftly crushes 4 of my ol' trusty 480's. My advice here is keep VRAM 100MB below maximum for every GPU, in your case ~1200MB usage.

    That fixed SLI scaling, stuttering and corruption issues on all titles back when I had to deal with 1.5 GB limit.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Of course that is a problem in some games (as it would be the same with a single card if you were threatening to constantly go above your VRAM threshholds).

    I was more talking about testing for graphical corruption (which is a driver problem) than a profile, framebuffer, or fermi problem.
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    edited November 2013
    Dictator93 wrote: »
    Of course that is a problem in some games (as it would be the same with a single card if you were threatening to constantly go above your VRAM threshholds).

    I was more talking about testing for graphical corruption (which is a driver problem) than a profile, framebuffer, or fermi problem.

    I know, bro, just that it could be a possibility, you see NVIDIA doesn't actively develop these cards anymore despite still having regular driver updates. I don't get any graphical corruption on my cards atm, though they are all Kepler both on my desktop and my laptop. Glad you managed by.

    The remaining 2 of my 480's are currently with my brother, and the only other cards I could test atm are a pair of archaic 896MB GTX 275 GPUs. Not sure if it's even worth bothering lol.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2013
    You currently have two keplers in SLI?

    Could you perhaps load up the newest drivers and post some results for me in DX11 in NS2?

    Namely, when you load up biodome and walk around the start area whether or not shadows flash in and out randomly?
    It would look like this:
    iz4Uks6GV1w1T.gif
    That would be really helpful to figuring out the cause of the problem. Because if you do not get it, that means the driver regression is only with fermi based cards.
  • soccerguy243soccerguy243 Join Date: 2012-12-22 Member: 175920Members, WC 2013 - Supporter
    i'm running the new drivers on my 560TIs. I can check for that biodome problem this weekend. anything else? How can I capture these problems aside from screenshots?
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    Dictator93 wrote: »
    You currently have two keplers in SLI?

    Could you perhaps load up the newest drivers and post some results for me in DX11 in NS2?

    Namely, when you load up biodome and walk around the start area whether or not shadows flash in and out randomly?
    It would look like this:
    iz4Uks6GV1w1T.gif
    That would be really helpful to figuring out the cause of the problem. Because if you do not get it, that means the driver regression is only with fermi based cards.

    Sadly no I don't, I wish I could afford two GTX Titans though :P
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    i'm running the new drivers on my 560TIs. I can check for that biodome problem this weekend. anything else? How can I capture these problems aside from screenshots?

    The problem is not just on biodome.. but with the shadow rendering in general (apparently just for me).

    Screenshots should be fine, but videos made with FRAPS, Afterburner, or gifs made from videos also help.

    Basically any evidence is fine.. even your anecdotal story!

    Thanks for the help btw. I wish some people with SLI kepler cards would come in and talk about the SLI DX11 experience. The larger the sample base the easier it would be to narrow down the problem.
  • soccerguy243soccerguy243 Join Date: 2012-12-22 Member: 175920Members, WC 2013 - Supporter
    i;ll download fraps this weekend then
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    i;ll download fraps this weekend then

    I strongly recommend MSI Afterburner. It's free, it has unlimited recording and screening capabilities with no watermarking and overclocking/voltage/fan control for your cards. It's a must have, bro :)

    Tip to always keep your SLI setup quiet after you played for a while, max out the fan speed for a minute and then put it back on automatic, it'll "flush" the heat out ;)
  • soccerguy243soccerguy243 Join Date: 2012-12-22 Member: 175920Members, WC 2013 - Supporter
    i;ll download fraps this weekend then

    I strongly recommend MSI Afterburner. It's free, it has unlimited recording and screening capabilities with no watermarking and overclocking/voltage/fan control for your cards. It's a must have, bro :)

    Tip to always keep your SLI setup quiet after you played for a while, max out the fan speed for a minute and then put it back on automatic, it'll "flush" the heat out ;)

    I've been doing that recently since one GPU will reach 102*C and about 95% load while the other is cool and around 30% load. I'm going to dust and rotate the cards since the slots are so close the top card's fans get blocked.
  • turtsmcgurtturtsmcgurt Join Date: 2012-11-01 Member: 165456Members, Reinforced - Supporter
    i;ll download fraps this weekend then

    I strongly recommend MSI Afterburner. It's free, it has unlimited recording and screening capabilities with no watermarking and overclocking/voltage/fan control for your cards. It's a must have, bro :)

    Tip to always keep your SLI setup quiet after you played for a while, max out the fan speed for a minute and then put it back on automatic, it'll "flush" the heat out ;)

    I've been doing that recently since one GPU will reach 102*C and about 95% load while the other is cool and around 30% load. I'm going to dust and rotate the cards since the slots are so close the top card's fans get blocked.

    yea that's a really good idea, your card shouldn't go above 80 on a full load.
  • PigPig Join Date: 2002-12-20 Member: 11205Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2013
    570 in SLI with new drivers in dx11, performance is great, shadows flicker as above (not as dramatic as yours though)
    works fine with them off


    Edit, guess it just depends where you stand :)
  • MartigenMartigen Australia Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2714Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, Reinforced - Onos
    edited November 2013
    Dictator93 wrote: »
    Thanks for the help btw. I wish some people with SLI kepler cards would come in and talk about the SLI DX11 experience. The larger the sample base the easier it would be to narrow down the problem.
    I can confirm the shadow flickering problem as well. This is with:
    • 3 x GTX680 4GB
    • Driver 331.58
    • DX11 SLI flag 0x000200F5
    Edit:
    Shadow flickering also happens with
    • 0x040200F5 (Nexuiz)
    • 0x080202F5 (Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham City)
    • 0x000600F5 (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky)
    It's like it's a Z-fighting issue, but just for shadows.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2013
    Awesome work guys. That means the SLI problem is both for kepler and for fermi (and Nvidia must not have really tested the game fully).

    These problems do not occur if one uses 327.23 btw, so that means something changed in the driver. It also means that it is reproducable in both Fermin and K104 Kepler cards.

    Good good. I will notify Andy.
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    @dictator93
    Awesome job again, and thanks for doing all this!
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    That being confirmed, I will do my part, I got my GTX 275's ready here. I can try to reproduce it on Tesla.
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    edited November 2013
    Confirmed on Tesla (896MB GTX 275) cards under Windows 8.1 Single Language, using the stock SLI profile and drivers 331.82 WHQL.

    PX2yzjS.png

    06gcter.png





  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Very nice post above. Thanks for taking the time to help out.

    Right now having a little trouble getting ahold of Andy, but it should come through in due time.

    I'll update the thread as soon as I get a response!
  • DarkLaunch357DarkLaunch357 Campinas, Brazil Join Date: 2013-09-01 Member: 187599Members
    glad I could be of some help.
  • moofreemoofree Join Date: 2005-01-10 Member: 34622Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Silver
    FYI I've been seeing similar problems with my crossfire setup with recent beta drivers.
  • BeelzebudBeelzebud Join Date: 2012-11-02 Member: 166165Members
    So has there ever been a resolution to this issue? I just got a 2nd GTX760 4gb today, got my SLI all setup and am a bit disappointed to see the flickering shadows in NS2. I'm using the 331.93 driver with win8.1 x64.
  • IronHorseIronHorse Developer, QA Manager, Technical Support & contributor Join Date: 2010-05-08 Member: 71669Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Subnautica Playtester, Subnautica PT Lead, Pistachionauts
    gonna have to bug Nvidia, as its their drivers. :)
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    IronHorse wrote: »
    gonna have to bug Nvidia, as its their drivers. :)

    Update. My contact @ Nividia dropped off the face of the earth. I contacted Max and am waiting on some communication with him. I also filed a bug report over @ Guru3d which is then sent over to Nvidia.

    Really wish I could move more on this... but alas, my Contact is gone :(
  • enfurnoenfurno Join Date: 2003-01-25 Member: 12729Members
    Am I doing something wrong here? I'm running an alienware 18, sli 770 gtx, and I still drop below 30 frames towards the end of a game when everything is hectic. I can remedy that by lowering settings. Although, I can run BF4 on ultra and never hiccup once. It's frustrating because, well, NS2 is far superior in every other way to BF4. I just don't know why it seems to run like crap sometimes.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    That sounds like a laptop you are running.

    Make sure you have preferred high performance set up for the NS2 profile in the Nvidia Control Panel. Other than that it is hard to do much about end game performance. NS2 requires extremely high single core performance, Laptops cannot achieve that due to heat concerns.
  • Dictator93Dictator93 Join Date: 2008-12-21 Member: 65833Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Just so everone knows... the latest Nvidia drivers still do not fix this problem. I still, of course, highly recommend using 327.23 with the custom SLI bits in DX11.
Sign In or Register to comment.